Socio-Pedagogical Challenges of Integrating Children with Short Stature Into Peer Environments
Author(s)
Natalia V. Lomonosova, Candidate of Sciences (Pedagogy), Associate Professor of the Department of Economics, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0225-2880, Author ID в РИНЦ: 9738-7686, Researcher ID: I-6319-2015, Scopus ID: 56227083200, Institute of Economics and Management of Industrial Enterprises, National University of Science and Technology “MISIS”
4 Leninskiy prospect, bldg. 1, Moscow, 119049, Russia, tel: +7 (495) 9550032, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Yuliya V. Nesterova, Director, http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0225-2880, Independent Non-profit Organization “(Not) Small People”
4 2-ya Roshchinskaya, bld. 4, Moscow, 115191, Russia, tel: 8 800 2223209, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Abstract:
Introduction. The relevance of the study is linked to the paradoxical situation faced by children with short stature in the modern educational system: on the one hand, they lack critical mental or physiological impairments that would formally necessitate the creation of special educational conditions, yet on the other hand, they face systemic social exclusion due to a visible anthropometric discrepancy from age norms. This provokes an “inclusive gap”, wherein a child, while formally included in the educational process, is de facto excluded from social interaction with peers. Despite the high social significance of the problem, the pedagogical aspects of short stature remain a peripheral area of research. This issue is exacerbated by the absence of an established scientific-practical framework in Russian pedagogy for the psychological and pedagogical adaptation of such children, as well as an acute shortage of interdisciplinary research integrating knowledge from endocrinology, anthropology, sociology, and pedagogy. The object of the research is the social integration of children with short stature; the subject is the objective and subjective aspects of the social integration of children with short stature within the context of inclusive education. The purpose of the work is to identify the key problems of social integration for individuals of short stature. Research objectives: to clarify the concept of short stature within a socio-pedagogical context; to define the specifics of social integration and social status of children with short stature; to study the methodology of the inclusive educational process from the perspective of adapting children with short stature within a peer group; to assess the key features of psychological and pedagogical support for children with short stature. The theoretical significance of the work is confirmed by the absence in contemporary literature of a description of the socio-pedagogical phenomenon of short stature and of systematic approaches to forming an inclusive culture for this group. The practical significance is associated with the potential to reduce social isolation and eliminate various forms of bullying directed at children with short stature in society.
Materials and Methods. The research employed a systemic-anthropological approach, allowing for the consideration of the inclusive environment as a unity of physical, pedagogical, and social components. At the theoretical level, methods of theoretical generalization, systematization, classification, and conceptual modeling were used. The empirical part involved qualitative methods: semi-structured interviews with parents of children with short stature (n=30), case studies (n=15), content analysis, and expert assessment of data. The sample encompassed respondents from various regions of the Russian Federation. Data analysis was conducted using thematic coding and comparative analysis to identify age and social patterns.
Results. The key aspects of the socio-pedagogical phenomenon of short stature were systematized; an original model of the age-related dynamics of socialization for children with short stature was developed, revealing the stages of transformation of external stigma into a self-limiting identity; a multifactor model of determinants for the social status of children with short stature in the educational environment was formed and verified, including anthropometric dissonance, pedagogical discourse, infrastructural barriers, and institutional lacunae; it was established that the key moderator of the integration process is the educator, who possesses specific inclusive competencies.
Discussion and Conclusion. Thus, the study clarifies the concept of short stature as an institutionally constructed paradox: a child’s mental normotypicality does not prevent systemic exclusion due to anthropometric dissonance. Furthermore, the specifics of social integration for children with short stature have been defined and their social status justified; the methodological framework of the inclusive educational process from the perspective of adapting children with short stature among their peers has been described; and an assessment of the features of psychological and pedagogical support for such children has been conducted. The results confirm the existence of challenges in the social integration of people with short stature and the necessity of shifting from reactive correction to preventive resource management. Overcoming the inclusivity gap requires targeted socio-pedagogical actions focused on critical points in age-related dynamics and addressing the identified systemic determinants of the diminished social status of children with short stature among their peers.
Keywords: inclusive education; social integration; stigmatization; achondroplasia; short stature; nanism; educational support
For citation: Nesterova Yu.V, Lomonosova N.V. Socio-Pedagogical Challenges of Integrating Children with Short Stature Into Peer Environments. Pedagogicheskiy IMIDZH = Pedagogical IMAGE. 2025; 19 (3). Pp.312-329. (In Russ.). DOI: 10.32343/2409-5052-2025-19-3-312-329
DOI: 10.32343/2409-5052-2025-19-3-312-329
UDС: 376.1
The article was submitted to the editorial office on 13.07.2024, approved after review on 01.09.2025, and accepted for publication on 05.09.2025.